Geoffrey C. Rapp is Professor of Law at the University of Toledo College of Law. Professor Rapp is a graduate of Harvard College (AB) (1998) and Yale Law School (JD) (2001).

Rapp graduated Phi Beta Kappa in Economics from Harvard, where he was a Research Assistant at the National Bureau of Economic Research and earned a public school teaching certificate in Social Studies. At Yale Law School, he was a Teaching Fellow and Head Teaching Fellow in the Department of Economics and a Teaching Fellow in the Computer Science Department. He served as a Notes Editor on the Yale Law Journal.

Rapp then clerked for The Honorable Cornelia G. Kennedy, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, in Detroit, Michigan. Rapp was a Visiting Professor at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law and has also taught at Wayne State University School of Law and Michigan State University College of Law, and worked in private practice.

Rapp’s research interests include substantive tort law, regulation of business entities and financial markets, the economic aspects of sports law, and the statistical analysis of legal and policy problems. Rapp is a contributor to the Sports Law Blog and has published pieces in The Washington Post, The Hartford Courant, and CNN.com. He has been frequently interviewed by local and national media, including National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, The New York Times, Toronto’s National Post, BBC Radio, The Christian Science Monitor, The Toledo Blade and The Washington Times. Professor Rapp is the author of a monthly column, Diary of a Dad, for the Toledo Area Parent News (circulation 40,000).

Ford "greatly" expanding recall of F-150 pickups due to problem that might result in unexpected deployment of airbags. No lawsuits are mentioned (and a Google search reveals no lawyers seeking clients through AdSense yet), but one assumes they're coming. (Reuters)

Arizona already has a constitutional amendment precluding illegal immigrants from receiving punitive damages, but the legislature has now attempted to make that retroactive to 2004. The bill is evidently an effort to prevent the payment of damages found in a particular suit against two Arizona ranchers found liable for false imprisonment.

Legal analysis in tort litigation should encourage deeper engagement with the plaintiff’s pain and suffering. Focusing more on understanding the causes and experience of human suffering – the Zen approach – will advance traditional tort goals of compensation and deterrence, as well as provide the plaintiff with a more positive litigation experience. This Article argues that current practices in tort litigation place too much emphasis on bodily harm and expert testimony, and unnecessarily position the plaintiff as a victim. Alternatively, a Zen approach recognizes that the body and mind are linked, places greater weight on direct, experiential testimony, and acknowledges the complexity and fluidity of the plaintiff’s identity.

After a two week trial, a West Virginia jury returned a defense verdict in favor of Massey Energy Co. in a class action for medical monitoring based on the plaintiffs' alleged exposure to toxic coal dust.